Dual tragedy: Couple killed in Thane inferno, three die in Bihar house fire

A senior citizen and his wife were killed, while three other family members were injured when a fire broke out in a residential building on Ghodbunder Road of Thane on Saturday, police said.

According to Kasarvadavali police station, the blaze was noticed around 2.30 am as the family slept at home on the first floor. The flames quickly spread into the other rooms of the house in Madvi Nivas building, trapping the family members.

Some locals summoned the police and fire brigade, which rushed to the spot and battled the blaze to bring it under control a short while later. After the cooling operations, the fire brigade launched a rescue operation for the victims stuck inside.

The flat owner, said to be the landlord of the building, Abhimanyu Madvi (66) and his wife Ramabai Madvi (51) perished in the blaze. Three other family members were injured and were rushed to a Thane hospital for treatment. The cause of the blaze is being investigated, said a Kasarvadavali police official.

Meanwhile, in a similar incident, three people were charred to death while two others sustained injuries after a fire erupted in a residential house in East Champaran district of Bihar.

The incident occurred in the house of Subodh Pandit, and the fire reportedly broke out owing to a short circuit. A big stock of cotton kept inside the house caught fire and intensified the flames, which soon engulfed the entire house.

Eyewitnesses said there were five persons inside the house when the fire began. Neighbours tried to douse the flames but failed, and fire brigade officials subsequently doused the flames after two hours, by which time three persons were charred to death and two badly injured.

Two of the deceased have been identified as Raushan Pandit (25) and his wife Savita Devi (22), while the identity of the third person is yet to be ascertained. The injured were identified as Subodh Pandit, father of Raushan, and Shalu Kumari. Both have been admitted to Sadar Hospital in Motihari, where their condition is said to be critical.